Have you ever entered a poetry contest? Are you thinking about entering one? Before you pick your poems and sign the entry fee check, you may want to read the following articles!
"Entering to Win: Poetry Contests" by Robert Casper
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5912
An Article on Online Poetry Contests by Kurt Heintz
http://poetry.about.com/od/onlinecontests/a/heintzcontests.htm
Both good references, though Caspar's argument gets a bit naive for me (the statistics quoted don't normalize for "readership" via other media, nor do they allow any blame on the supply side of the poetry imbalance). I think the judge's reputation (even more than the publisher) should primarily determine participation, on the assumption that a poet you respect is more likely to be associated with a contest that is reasonable to you. This does mean that all contests are not for all poets, of course, which feels correct to me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, David! Your points are well taken.
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